Prashar Lake – Day trip from Bir Billing

Prashar Lake

Prashar Lake is named after the name of Prashar Rishi and has a temple dedicated to him besides the lake. Located at an altitude of 2780 mts above sea level, Prashar Lake is located 105 km from Bir Billing takes about 3-4 hrs to reach.

Prashar lake is famous for its picturesque landscape and the amazing views all around with snow covered peaks and Beas River. However, its unique feature is a round shaped floating grass island which shifts its position regularly. According to the local priest, the depth of the lake remains unmeasured.
The three storied temple is in traditional Pagoda style, built in the 13th thirteen century from the wood of a single Deodar tree. The priest here belong to the Rajput clan. The story goes that once the King was unhappy with the Brahmin priest’s irregularities and replaced him with a Rajput.

As per the local priest, the lake was created by the Pandavas when they were travelling after the battle of Mahabharata with Kamrunag to find a place to stay. Kamrunag loved the isolation of the place and decided to stay here for rest of his life. On this request, Bheem pushed the mountain with his elbow to form a lake, as also the reason for its oval shape. Kamrunag is thus the local deity of the Kamru valley. Pilgrims throw silver, gold and metal coins in the lake to fulfil their wishes. Hindu and Buddhist pilgrims travels to Prashar Lake regularly throughout the year.

It is well connected with road and also has regular bus from Mandi starting at 8 am in the morning. The road is open throughout the year except Jan to March when the valley experiences heavy snowfall. The road gets cleared by H.P.P.W.D. from time to time but can close suddenly. During winter many people trek to Prashar Lake in the snow.

The temple’s surroundings are fenced all round to protect it from sheep movement and keep the place clean and safe. Prahsar has few shops to eat that serve parantha, Maggi, rajma chawal, cold drinks, tea etc. Few govt guest houses (PWD and Forest) can be booked from Mandi from their respective offices but need to be done well in advance. However, Prashar lake is one of the best option to do from Bir as a day trip and one can also do it on the way while travelling to Manali, 110 km away